Control device for coin-operated machines



June 24, 1930. F. L. MILLS CONTROL DEVICE FOR COIN OPERATED MACHINES Filed Dec; 8, 1927 4 Sheets-Sheet, l

15209222072' flw/ Q- m M J W June 24, 1930. F. 1.. MILLS J 1,767,603

CONTROL DEVICE FOR COIN OPERATED MACHINES Filed Dec. 8, 1927 I 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 fay-5 INVENTOR.

#4; 52M I awpm ATTORNEY.

June 24,1930. F. L. MILLS 1,767,603 I I CONTROL DE ICE FOR QOIN OPERATED MACHINES Fi led Dec. 1927 4 Sheets-Sheet '5' INVENTOR. jive/29w am y ATTORNEY June 24, 1930. O I F. L MILLS 1,767,603

CONTROL DEVICE FOR OOIN OPERATED MACHINES Filed Dec. 8, 1927 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Patented June 24, 1930 UNITED FRED L. MILLS, 01: OAK PARK, ILLINOIS, ASS IGNOR TO MILIlS NOVELTY COMPANY, OF

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A. CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS CONTROL DEVICE FOR COIN-OPERATED MACHINEQ Application filed December 8, 1927, Serial No. 238,478, and in Canada November 19, 1927.

This inventionrelates to coin-controlled vending machines of that type in which there is provided, in combination with the vending mechanism, a plurality of legenddisplaying reels which are rotated in the operation of the machine and which are adapted, when they come to rest, to display a combination of legends, as for telling fortunes, or for other purposes, there being also provided, in association with said reels means for controlling the operation of payout mechanism by which suitable coupons or checks may be delivered to the operator as a result of the operation of the machine.

The primary object of the present invention is the provision'of means for enabling the operator to control the stopping of the reels and the operation of the pay-out mechanism by the exercise of proper skill and to prevent the operation of said mechanism unless said means be actuated by the operator.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent as it is better understood from the following description, which, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, discloses a preferred embodiment thereof.

Referring to the drawings, I

Figure 1 is a broken side elevational view of a machine in which my invention is embodied, the casing being removed for clearer illustration Fig. 2 is a broken front elevational and sectional view, showing a coin slot and eertion of the coin-controlled mechanism;

Fig. 3 is an elevational view of the legend.

displaying reels showing also the stop buttons and certain of the control mechanism;

Fi 4 is a detailed plan view, taken substantially on the section line 4'4'in Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a detailed plan, and sectional view of the mechanism whereby the reel stop control bar is actuated from the main rock shaft of the machine;

Figs. 6, 7, 8, and 9 are broken elevational and sectional views of certain mechanism, taken substantially on the plane 66 of Fig. 3 and showing different stages of the operation of the reel control mechanism;

Fig. 10 is a detailed plan and sectional View, showing the means for holding the pay-out slides in their normal advanced position;

Fig. 11 isan enlarged detail view of the means for controlling the reels of the payout slides; and

Fig. 12 is a broken sectional and elevational view of the stack of pay-out slides, showing also the means whereby they are returned to their normal position after having been operated.

Upon said drawings l have shown, for purposes of illustration, a machine in which a plurality of reels 11, 12, and 13 are mounted respectively upon tubular shafts 14, 15, and 16, which are suitably mounted in bearings in the frame, one of which is shown at 17 and formed in a frame upright 18. Said shafts carry, respectively, ratchet wheels 19, 21, and 22, mounted in adjacent relation at the right of the reel 11 and said wheels are adapted to be simultaneously actuated to'start the reels rotating by means of a pawl lever 23, which. may be actuated by means of a rock shaft 24, carrying an arm 24, to which said lever is pivotally attached and spring-connected by means of a spring 24*. Said shaft 24 is adapted to be rocked in the operation of the machine by means of a pivoted pawl 101, carried upon an arm 102 extending rearwardly from a pivot 103 supporting a lever 104 equipped at its front end with a lateral stud 105, which is adapted to be actuated by an actuating lever 100 (Fig. 2) operable by a crank (not shown) mounted on the exterior of the casing 100*, said pawl 101 being adapted to engage an arm 106 carried by said shaft 24.

The lever 104 is normally held in raised position by a spring 107, secured thereto at 108 and secured at 109 to a frame-part 110. A lug 111, upon the forward end of said lever 104, is adapted to normally engage a contacts with the lug 111, but when the lever The lever 113 normally 104 is moved downwardly, the lever 113 is adapted to be drawn back by a spring 113 secured at one end to the upper end of the lever 113 and at the other end to the frame. This brings the shoulder 112 on the lever 113 into the path of the lug 111 as the lever 104is drawn downwardly. Said lever 104 has connected therewith a link 114, which is connected with and serves to actuate a coin-depressing lever 115, having a rearwardly turned lug 116 Working through a slot 117 in the front wall of a coin-slot 118 of usual construction. When the lug 116 is lowered and caused to engage a coin in the coin-slot or chute 118, the coin is thereby forced through the coin passage and past the front extremity of a plunger 119, the rear end of which is pivotally connected at 120 with the upper end of a lever 121, which has its intermediate portion mounted on a pivot 122. The lower end of the lever 121 has a stud and slot connection, as indicated at 123, with the upper end of the locking lever 113, which as above stated, is provided with a shoulder 112 adapted to engage the locking lug 111 on the lever 104 to prevent the mechanism from being actuated when there is no coin in the slot 118. If there be a coin in the slot, however, the plunger'119 engages the same and prevents the spring 113 from moving the locking lever 113 into obstructing position. The lever 104 is capable of a certain amount of movement to permit operation of the lever 121 under the action of the spring 113 to lock'the mechanism in case no coin is present. The lower end of the link 114 is slotted, as indicated at 124, and engages a stud 125 on the lever 104, 'said stud being equipped with a clip 126, which is connected by springs 127 with a member 128, fixedly secured to the link 114. Thus, when said lever 104 is depressed, the link 114 is drawn downwardly through the medium of the springs 127. It w1ll be evident that if a coin is inserted in the coin slot 118 and drawn downwardly by the stud 116 on the' A coin chute 131 is provided to receive the coins and direct them to a suitable coin box (not shown). The machine may be operated in the same manner by means of annular checks, and mechanism (not shown) is provided for directing the same into a tube or magazine 132.

The reels are normally held in fixed position bymeans of a stop mechanism, shown in detail in Figs. 6, 7, 8, and 9. This mechanism is duplicated for each of the reels and comprises a star wheel 25, rigidly mounted on the reel shaft and normally engaged by a head 26 on a lever 27 pivoted at 28 to a member 29 mounted for rocking movement upon a cross shaft 31. The lever 27 has a lateral projection 32 upon the end of which is formed an upwardly extending cam part 33 and the parts 27 and 29 are normally held as a unit in the .relation shown in Fig. 9, with the head 26 engaging the star wheel 25, by means of a spring 41, connected at one end to the extension 32 on the lever 27 and at the other end to a rod 42 rigid with the frame.

Upon rotation of the rock shaft 24 to start the reels spinning, the lever 27 and member 29 are moved to the position shown in Fig. 6 by means of a web 43, carried by arms 43 secured to the shaft 24 and adapted to engage the parts 33 on the members 32 to turn the unit 27, 29 on the pivot 31 to'the position of said Fig. 6. The arms 43 are connected by springs 40 to the frame,

said springs tending to return the rock shaft 24 to normal position. It will be noted that a lug 44 is provided at the upper end of member 29 and is disposed in front of the lever 27 said lug being adapted to be engaged by the lever 27 when the latter is operated in the manner just described, thus moving the member 29 and associated parts to the position of Fig. 6.

A stud 45 is provided on the member 29 and is adapted to be normally disposed in a notch 46 in the link 36, the latter being normally held in raised position by thie spring 34. As the parts 27, 29 are moved to the position of Fig. 6, a bar 47, which is pivoted at 48 to the frame ofthe machine, is moved forwardly beneath a foot portion 51 of the member 29, the latter at this time being, of course, elevated-sufficiently to'permit this action of said bar 47. The forward movement of said bar 47 is produced by the rock shaft 24 through the instrumentality of an. arm 50 carried by said rock shaft 24 (see Fig, 5'), said arm 50 acting upon a lever 50 which is rigidly secured to a shaft 50 of a geartrain 50 equipped with a regulating vane 50 in a well known manner, said lever 50 being connected by a link 52 with said bar 47 and having an arm 50 connected port said bar 47 in desired plane, and said bar is also provided with two laterally extendin projections 58 and 59.

So ar as the mechanism thus far deby a spring 50 to a fixed position on the latter one by one as permitted by said bar- 47. Provision is made, however, for manually controlling the reels and the instrumentalities for this purpose comprise the bars 39, which are connected at their upper ends with arms 61, pivoted at 62 to a frame upright 63 and having laterally extending projections 64 thereon which are engaged by push rods 65, extendin through a casing 66 and having buttons 6 secured to the upper ends thereof and' vertically movable in housings 68 formed on the casing, retaining pins 69 being carried by' the push rods within the casing to permit removal thereof.

Lugs 71 are provided on the bottoms of the feet 51 of the members 29 and so long as said lugs are in contact with the bar- 47 effective actuation of the buttons 67 is prevented b reason of the fact that the lower end of te bar 39 is disposed immediately ,above a fixed cross bar 72 supported by end pieces 73 flanged at their lower ends and secured to the floor of the machine by screws 74. When the lug 71 on the foot member 51, at the left in Fig. 4, drops off the bar 47,

the member 29 is moved to the position shown in Fig. 7, which gives sufiicient clearance between the bar 39 and the cross-piece 72 to permit depression of the button 67, shown at the left in Fig. 3, thereby disengaging the link 36 from the pin 45 and perunless the buttons 67 are operated, thus making the outcome necessarlly dependent upon the manner of manipulation of said buttons. This device comprises a member 75, which is pivotally mounted upon a shaft 76 and is provided at its lower end with a hook portion 77, said member being also provided with an intermediate flanged part 78 and an upper tail part 79. The elevation of the foot member 51 causes the latter to engage the flanged part 78, thereby insuring that the hook portion 77 of said member 75 will engage a stud -81 upon the top of the bar 47 as the latter moves rearwardly towardthe full line position of Fig. 4. This engagement can only be prevented or disengagement effected by manipulation of the proper button 67, thereby depressing the bar39 and the link 36, upon which there is provided a pin 82, adapted to engage the tail part 79 of said member 75. This action is shown in Fig. 8 of the drawings, in which it will be observed that the hook part 77 of the member 75 is sufliciently' elevated to permit the bar 47 to proceed to' its normal position. Upon the next operation of the machine, the foot 51 engages thefiange 7 8' on the member 75 and turns the latter on its pivot to theposition shown in Fig. 6. A friction spring 7 6 is provided on the shaft 76 and tends to hold said members 75 in any position assumed thereby.

It will be understood that the mechanism just described is duplicated for each of the reels and that each of the buttons 67 must be operated before theclock arm 47 can return to its normal position.

After the bar 47 has receded sufficiently to allow the lug'71 on the foot member 51 to drop off said bar-.or clock arm 47, the reel mitting the member 27 to turn-on its pivot l control devices can be operated and this will 28 under the influence of the spring 41, this action bringing the head part 26 of said member 27 into engagement with the star wheel 25 of said left-hand reel, thus stopping the motion of the latter. The same action occurs with respect to the stop mechanism for the reels 12 and; 11 as the lugs 71 on.

the successive foot members 51 drop off the bar 47, it being notedthat the lugs 58 and 59 on said bar are-arran d to engage said foot members and are so ormed as to determine the time of operation thereof. By

observing'the reels 11, 12, and 13-through 'a window in the casing and manipulating "'in'Fig. 9.

disengage the link 36 from'the pin 45, thus permitting the lever 27 to move from the position shown inFig. 7 to that shown in Fig. 8 of the drawings. elevates the hook portion 77 on the members 75, permitting the bar 47 to continue in its backward motion until it reaches normalposition with the parts in the position shown Provision is made to prevent operation of the pay-out slides, indicated at 133 in Figs.

This action also 10 and 12, until'said bar 47 has been returned to its normal position, and it, therefore, follows that the buttonsv 67 must be actuated before said pay-out mechanism can operate.

There is a series of such slides 133 superimposed one upon the other and slidably mounted within a bracket 134 on the bottom'135 of the casin Said slides are normally held in forward position, as shown in said Figs. 10 and 12, in which position apertures 136 in said slides are arranged in ali nment and in registration with the lower em? of the check magazine or tube 132. In

this position, the slides are loaded, in obvious manner, and upon release thereof, are adapted to be drawn rearwardly by means of springs 137 secured to the rear ends there- 5 of and to a fixed part 138 on the frame. The

slides are normally held in advanced position by means of a series of locking levers 139, shown in Figs. 1, 10, and 11 of the drawings. Said levers are held by means of springs 141 in position with the forward ends thereof engaging a shoulder 142 on the rear of the slides 133 and said levers are adapted to be actuated to release said slides by means of a series of vertical levers 143, shown in the same figures of thedrawings last referred to. Said levers 143 are pivotally mounted at 144 upon a bracket 145 secured to the frame and are equipped at their upper ends with laterally extending arms working through slots 146 in a guide member 147, carried by the frame, said arms coacting with the ratchet disks 19, 21, and 22, and being adapted to enter perforations 148 thereon, or to bear against the outermost disk 19, as the case may be. This is a known construction and is not claimed as novel in the present invention, except in the combination specified in the claims. It will be apparent that the lower parts 149 of the V levers 143 are adapted to act upon the locking levers 139, in the event that said levers 143, or any number thereof, are turned upon their pivots by entry of the laterally extending arms at the upper ends thereof into the perforations 148 of the ratchet disks.

The number of lovers 143 permitted to operate upon any actuation of the machine,

the per orations 148 in the rate et disks, and this is determined by the position of rest of the reels.

I also provide a locking lever 49, upon the pivot 48 upon which the bar 47 is mounted, the forward end of said lever being adapted to engage an up-turned lug 151 upon the lowermost'slide 133, thus holding all of the slides in advanced position. A spring 53, secured at one end to an up-turned lug 54 on the member 49 and at the opposite end to a hook on the member 47, yield ingly holds the lug 54 of said member 49 against the bar 47 so that the lever 49 and bar 47 will move as a unit, the lever 49 being moved to locking position, as shown in full lines in Fig. 10, upon the forward movement of the member .47 and being moved to unlocking position, as shown in dotted lines in said figure, when the bar 47 is moved to its rearmost or normal position. When the slides are disengaged by thelocking lever 49, such thereof as are also disengaged by the levers 139 are drawn rearward- ,ly by the springs 137, so that the openings 136 are brought into registration with an opening 152 in the bottom ofthe casing,

obviousl depends upon the arrangement of from which opening a passage 153 leads to a discharge tray (not shown). Such slides as are retracted in this manner upon any op'-' eration of the machine are returned to forward position by means of a push rod 154 secured'to an arm 24 onthe shaft 24, said rod having a loop 155 at the rear end thereof having a lost motion connection with a stud 156 upon said arm 24. A heavy coil spring 157 connects said loop 155 with a depending projection 158 upon the arm'24". It will now be evident that the pay-out slides are permitted ,to operate only in the event that the bar 47 is'fully returned to normal position and that the latter cannot be returned to such position until the buttons 67 are operated.

The operation of the devicehas been indicated in the foregoing description, from which it will be understood that upon insertion of a coin and rotation of the rock shaft 24, the reels will be set in motion by the action of the pawl lever 23 on the ratchetwheels 19, 21, and 22, which, it will be observed from Figs. 2 and 3, are provided with ratchet teeth 83. The rotation of said shaft 24 releases the reels for rotation by moving the unit 27, 29 to the position shown in Fig. 6 of the drawings, this movement being accomplished by the action of the web 43 upon the extension 32 of the member 27. At the sametime, the bar 47 is moved forwardly beneath the foot portions 51 of the members 29 and immediately starts moving slowly back to the full line position shown in Fig. 4. As the lugs 71 of successive members 51 drop off the bar 47 the link 36 and bar 39-are moved a sufficient distance from the cross-piece 72 to permit disengagement of said link 36 from the pin 45 by manipulation of the appropriate button 67. Thereupon, the member 27 by reason of the spring tension and its pivotal connection with the member 29, moves to the position shown in Fig. 8. Pressing the button 67 also turns the member 75 on its pivot 76 so as to raise the hook portion 77 above the stud 81. If, however, the button is not manipulated, said hook portion, 77 will engage the stud 81 and prevent the bar 47 from returning to normal position. Until it doesso return, however, the'locking bar, or latch, 49 will not be released and the payout slides will not be permitted to operate. The final position of the parts of the stop mechanism,

is shown in Fig. 9 of the drawings, it being understood, however, that the action shown in Fig. 8 has'first occurred, thereby stopping the reel, and releasing the pay-out slides as hereinbefore described Q With the mechanism above described, the operator not only is enabled to control the final position of the reels, but is required to operate the skill control devices before the pay-outmechanism can operate.

acter.

. the form Suitable merchandise compartments may be provided at the front of the machine for mints, or the like, and ejecting mechanism, operated by the coin-controlled mechanism in well-known manner, may be employed as is usual in vending machines of this char- It is thought that the invention and many of its attendant advantages will be understood from the foregoing description, and it will be apparent that various changes may be made in the form, construction, and arrangement of the parts without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, or sacrificing all of its material advantages, hereinbefore described being merely a preferred embodiment thereof.

' I claim:

1. A coin-controlled machine comprising pay-out mechanism, means for controlling the operation of said mechanism including rotatable reels and automatic stopping devices therefor, and manually operable means for actuating said stopping device after the machine has been set in motion and prior to the normal operation of said stopping devices to thereby render the action of the payout mechanism subject to the control of the operator.

2. A coin-controlled machine comprising pay-out mechanism, means for controlling the operation of said mechanism, manually operable means for stopping said last-mentioned means after the same has been set in motion to thereby render the action of the pay-out mechanism subject to the control of the operator, and devices for reventing operation of the pay-out mec anism unless said last-mentioned means be actuated by the operator. I

3. A coin-controlled machine comprising a plurality of rotatable reels, a'coupon or check pay-out mechanism, means associated with said reels for controlling the operation of said pay-out mechanism, coin-controlled means for setting the reels in motion, automatic devices for stopping said reels and means under the control of the operator for actuating said devices prior to the time for normal operation thereof to stop the reels whereby their final position and consequently the action of said pay-out mechanism'may be determined by the skill of the operator. I

4. A coin-controlled machine comprising a pluralityof rotatable reels, a coupon or check pay-out mechanism, means associated with said reels for controlling the operation of said pay-out mechanism, coin-controlled means for setting the reels in motion, means under the control of the operator for stop-- ping the reels whereby their final position and consequently the action of said ay-out mechanism may be determined by t e sk ll of the operator, and means for preventing, operation of the pay-out mechanism unless said last-mentioned means be actuated by the operator.

' 5. A coin-controlled machine comprising 3 a plurality of legend-bearing reels, means operable upon the insertion of a coin in the machine for setting said reels in motion, manually controllable means for stopping the motion of the reels whereby the operator may seek to control their final arrangement,

pay-out mechanism the operation of which is determined by the final arrangement of said reels, and a device associated with said manually controllable means and adapted to prevent operation of said pay-out mechanism unless said means'be manipulated by the operator.

6. A coin-controlled machine comprising a -of the operator.

7. Ina machine of the class described, the combination of a plurality of reels, coincont rolled means for rotating the same, stop mechanism movable to ineffective position .as the reels are started to rotating, a member adapted in the initial stages ofthe operation to hold said stop mechanism in inefiective position, said member being movable to position to release said mechanism for operation, manually controllable devices for causing the operation of said mechanism when released, pay-out mechanism and means for preventing operation of said last mentioned mechanism unless said manually controllable devices be manipulated.

8. In a machine of the class described, the

combination of a plurality of reels, coincontrolled'means for rotatin the same, stop mechanism movable to ine ective position as'the reels are started to rotating, a mem beradapted in the initial stages of the operation to hold said stop mechanism in ineffective position, said member being movable to position to release said mechanism for operation, manually controllable devices for causing the operation of said mechanism when released, ay-out mechanism the operation of whic pay-out mechanism unless said devices be manipulated by the operator.

9. A coin-controlled machine comprising a series of rotatable members, means, for

is determined by the ar-. 'rangement in which saidreelscome to rest, and means for preventing operation of said rotating the same, coupon or check delivery mechanism controlled according to the final position of said members after rotation, a stopping device, manually operable skill devices for controlling the stopping of said members, and meansfor preventing operation of said delivery mechanism unless .said skill devices be operated, said means comprising a latch for holding the delivery mechanism against operation, and means v efi'ective only in case of operation of said a said skill device for obstructing skill devices for releasing said latch.

' 11. A coin-controlled machine comprisinga series of rotatable members, means for rotating the same, coupon or check delivery mechanism controlled according to the final position of said members after rotation, a stopping device, manually operable skill devices for controlling the stopping of said members, and means for preventing operation of said delivery mechanism unless said skill devices be operated, said means comprising a latch for holding the delivery mechanism against operation and means effective only in case of operation of said skill devices for releasing said latch, said lastmentioned means including a clock arm movable during the operation of the machine and adapted when it reaches a predetermined position to actuate said latch to release the same, and an element controlled by a said skill device for obstructing the mowement of said arm to such position unless said skill device is operated.

12. A coin-controlled machine comprising a series of rotatable members, means for rotating the same, coupon or check delivery mechanismcontrolled according to the final position of said members after rotation, a stopping device, manually operable skill devices for" controlling the stopping of said members, and means f or preventing operation of said delivery mechanism unless said skill devices be operated, said means comskill device is operated, said element comprising a pivoted hook member and said clock arm having a part engageable by said hook member to restrain movement of the clock arm, said member being movable to non-obstructing position by operation of said skill device.

13. A coin-controlled machine comprising a series of rotatable members, means for rotating the same, coupon or check delivery mechanism controlled according to the final position of said members after rotation, a stopping device, manually operable skill devices for controlling the stopping of said members, means for preventing operation of said delivery mechanism unless said skill devices be operated, and means for preventing operation of said skill devices for a period of time after the operation of the machine is begun.

In testimony whereof, I hereunto subscribe my name to this specification. k FRED L. MILLS.

prising a latch for holding the-delivery mechanism against operation andmeans e fective only in case ofoperation of said skill devices for releasing said latch, said lastmentioned means including a clock arm movable during the operation of the machine and adapted when it reaches a predetermined position to actuate said latch to release the same, and an element controlled by the movement of said arm to such positionunless said 

